Critical activities involving in a high raise building

Hi Pinan



Test & Commission M&E installations



Best regards



Mike Testro

what is t&c?

just a few more apart from normal building construction activities:



- never forget the leave out areas. In most of the high rise projects, detailed schedule analysis is never done for theses areas and it raises a risk to the logistics schedule and critical path. Check methodology for finishing of this area.



- Add all Local Authority Approvals (if in UAE then like JAFZA, RTA and others) as part of the program. It may take 3-4 months.



- project duration for high rise buildings is always larger, say 4 years. So, all finish design changes shoyuld be accounted as "MUST HAPPEN EVENT". Need to keep sufficient float in the program to counter these things, especially in UAE, where demads of end user changes after every six months.



- prepare Matrix of design co-ordination while submitting the baseline programme. There will be lot of specialized agencies involved and so the confusion to play the BLAME GAME for any delay happened at later stages. Prepare RACI Chart.



- Make sure u audit and analyze baseline after every six months, if program shows irrecoverable delays in existing logic.



- Provide more float for major procurement items, as quantity to be ordered will be huge, like cladding materials and others.



- Logistics Plan - Utmost importanmt, need to be signed off by all senior team members.



- Mock up schedule: A stand alone exhaustive schedule to be prepared for all mock-up activities and need to be identified at the commencement stage itself.



- Tower Crane jumping: Any delay in jumping may delay the constrution works to great extent. need to monitored separately.



Always remember, core structure may go up very fast but need to concentrate on DETAILS to avoid any mess at later stages.



Cheers,



Ravi

Thanks Charleston - so basically it is the early switch on of semi-completed ventilation / conditioning systems to help with productivity and materials protection.



Cheers



Tom

TOM,



WILD AIR was explain in previous thread way back 2005, so it is very hard to find it here in PP.



Anyway



In some place in the world, the month of July, August and September is usually the hottest month, sometimes it reach more than 50 degree celsius. In the event that high rise building construction is already cladded, hence start of finishing works, say gypsum board,



what do you think will happen to the material gypsum board subjected to extreme inside temperature (more than the outside temperature of 50 deg celsius) and of course to the workers inside the cladded building. Take note that the structure must be claded before finishing works can start.



So this is where WILD AIR will come. The wild air is use to cool the inside of the building so that the gypsum board will not wrap and the place is pleasing to work. HOW to generate the wild air. To generate wild air, the chiller will be commission, the power supply to the chiller will be commission, water supply will also be feed to the chiller, and the condesate will be thrown to the drainage, hence drainage system will be commission.



So what really happen is only a fraction of the whole MEP system will be partially commision to generate the wild air.



Cheers,

Charlie

Hi MIke,



Your quote: Could it be what happens when a hurricane hits a high rise building?



Very easy!



All the contractor has to do is to give notification to claim for time extension claim Hurricane is "force majeure".



On the other hand, in some countries, the comming of Hurricane is a normal and natural phenomena, say in Philippines, it is normal to be visited by 26 occurence of supertyphoon around 150KM per Hour of wind speed annually!!! so this is not a force majeure anymore because everybody knows it will come annually.



Just the same, smart contractor will just give notification to claim for time extension due to force majeure.

Hi KS Wong,



Your idea to complete superstructure works before start facade installation or cladding works in high rise building / tower construction say 80th storey high is not the most efficient plan relative to time completion.



In high rise building / Tower construction, it is not necessary to complete the whole superstructure works ground floor to say 80th floor before start of cladding works.



The earlier the start of cladding works the earlier the project will be completed.



Cheers,

Charlie

Hi All



This tread is starting to unravel.



First we have Wild Air and now a Rule of Thump to consider.



Could it be what happens when a hurricane hits a high rise building?



Best regards



Mike Testro

Is someone going to explain what the bejesus "WILD AIR" is ??



Is it something to do with skateboarding? As in "Catching some wild air there, Dude!" ???

Hi Charleston.



I suppose you can draw up a construction plan by first reading a book - I would never employ a planner before he/she had got some practical hands on experience of the construction process.



And what sort of calendar do you put on any drying out - curing time?



By the way the only countries that I have not yet worked in are South Amerrica Carribean and Australasia - so I have picked up a bit of jargon on the way.



My philosophy is "if you don’t know then ask" but only ask once.



Best regards



Mike Testro

Hi Kumar,



This is a ‘rule of thumb’ for identifying critical activities in a high rise bldg.



1. Foundation works

2. Superstructure works (determine floor cycle)

3. Builder’s works in major plant rooms (LMR, Chiller Plant etc)

4. Lift Installation / Major E/M Plant Installation

5. T&C

6. Facade installation

7. Internal fitting out (controlled by available resources)

8. Remove temp. works (scaffold, hoists etc)

9. Statutory inspections

10. Rectify defects + Handover inspection



Regards,

KS

Hi Mike,



Your quote "What you are saying is if you haven’t built it you cannot plan it."



Not necessarily because we have planning planet, internet, google, etc. We can still plan without experience in building anything, if we are smart ... read a lot, use analytical skills, surf the internet, search using google, etc. I done this when I taught PERT/CPM fresh from university. I done this when I started my first project.



I did built high rise buildings, we call it here towers



The concept I previously posted is fundamental. I always highlight this in my review of master plan / schedule.



There are variation in details, like for example in some countries the critical path will allow for "WILD AIR" to be available before finishing activities related to gypsum boards can start



for "WILD AIR" to start, some HVAC system must be commissioned, which of course needs power/electrical system and water supply / drainage system, hence MEP within the critical path



Of course if you have not worked in the various countries I worked previously, then, you do not have any Idea or clueless what is WILD AIR. Why it is called WILD AIR?? Why it is necessary to have WILD AIR???



BTW, in most countries in the world they dont need WILD AIR.



Cheers,

Charlie

Hi Charleston



What you are saying is if you haven’t built it you cannot plan it.



You and I are at one with this.



Best regards



Mike Testro



PS did you have a good break?

Kumar,



It will start with enabling works, substructure (bored piling), casting of basement floors, concrete works on superstructure floor by floors, cladding, interior finishes/MEP works, testing and commissioning and Handover.



There will be a transition up to certain floors that critical activities will change from critical concrete works to critical cladding and interior finishes/MEP works.



The specific floor will depends on the height and type of finishes.



Cheers,

Charlie

just out of interest, why do you want to know Kumar? Have you been asked to plan one?

Most critical is "LOGISTICS PLAN".



Any change in logistics Plan means change in program